The shift in captaincy comes a day after the Sri Lankan selection committee, headed by Sanath Jayasuriya, stepped down after a string of defeats.

Experienced fast bowler - Lasith Malinga will lead Sri Lanka in the absence of injured Chamara Kapugedara in the fourth ODI of the five-match series against India in Colombo on Thursday. Kapugedera aggravated a back injury during his side's six-wicket defeat in the third ODI against India on Sunday. He has not trained since the last ODI as he was nursing a stiff back but had batted and fielded in that game.

Kapugedera was roped in as the Sri Lanka captain in place of Upul Tharanga who was suspended due to a slow over rate after the second ODI. The hosts are already dealing with the problem of a long list of injured players - Dinesh Chandimal was out with a fractured finger while wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Perera and batting all-rounder Asela Gunaratne had been ruled out of the series with an injury.

Danushka Gunathilaka is also nursing a shoulder strain (though there remains a small possibility he could recover in time for the next match).

Also, Malinga's appointment is the fifth captaincy change to the Sri Lankan side in the last seven competitive matches.

The Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed that Malinga would captain the team in Colombo this week, two months after being fined and handed suspension for comments he made following the ICC Champions Trophy in June, cricket.com.au reported.

The shift in captaincy comes a day after the Sri Lankan selection committee, headed by Sanath Jayasuriya, stepped down.

Sri Lanka's selection panel released a lengthy statement confirming they had resigned following a horror stretch that has seen them win just four of their past 15 matches across all formats.

The committee had been at the receiving end of coach Nic Pothas, who said that 'too many cooks' were spoiling his efforts to revive the national team besides blaming outside interference for a string of poor performances in the recent times.

Earlier, Lanka had also used two captains in the preceding Test series, which the hosts went on to lose by 0-3, while veteran spinner Rangana Herath came in for skipper Dinesh Chandimal in the opening Test before Chandimal returned for the final two matches of the series.